All glory to God (2)

15 April 2018

‘The whole earth is full of His glory!’

Isaiah 6:3 NKJV

Where do we find God’s glory? All things were created by God and for God: He gets to enjoy them – and He designed it so that we could enjoy them too. The line between sacred and secular isn’t real. Every note of music, every colour splashed on canvas, every flavour, shows God’s glory. A single hydrogen atom sends out 100 frequencies – more musical than a grand piano, which only sends out 87. Literally every single atom is a unique expression of worship. According to composer Leonard Bernstein, the best translation of Genesis 1:3 is not ‘And God said,’ but, ‘And God sang.’ The Almighty sang every atom into existence, and every atom echoes that original melody, the three-part harmony of Father, Son, and Spirit. We get to enjoy this, too – God’s exuberant delight over creation – but sometimes it takes a bit of work to start recognising it. We have to consciously switch from ‘Lord, this world is broken beyond repair’ prayers to ‘Father, I see Your goodness all around me, in this world, and that makes me want to worship You and see Your kingdom grow here even more.’ One day we will get to hear this: ‘every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!”’ (Revelation 5:13 NIVUK). But you don’t have to wait until then to start singing.

What now?

Some Jewish rabbis make children write out lists of everything they’re thankful for. The idea is that eventually they get bored with ‘sweets’ and start to be thankful for the ordinary – sun, ground, water, homework. Make a thankfulness list until you get bored: and then, see what ordinary things you can be thankful for.